songwritng tips you can sing to

When I sing this little song, please don’t laugh
I’m just trying to show you something about the songwriting craft

Now just pick up your guitar and strum a little while
And if I you get lucky you might find a nice little style
It might remind you of something or someone you knew
Pretty soon some words will come out and that’s your poetic muse

If you want to write a song you have to free associate
Then your head and your heart have to negotiate
Cause where your heart wants to go your head won’t let it
But if they can work it out somehow- after while you said it!

But just when your lines start to fit like a glove
You realize there just aren’t enough words that rhyme with Love
And if you substitute another word as a compromise
Before you know it you’ve got a line you despise

It helps to be a little weird and to be a little wise
You’re going to feel a little crazy sometimes and preoccupied
If you sitting at the stop light and the light turns green
A songwriter might hear the horn and say “Hey, that’s in the key of G”

If you want to write a song, just hum a little tune
And rhyme with a month like April May or June
AH, I was kidding about April, you might want to try something else
Cause if you try to rhyme with April, you might hurt yourself

Don’t force your rhymes- you’ll face the poet police
And you might get arrested for disturbing the piece
You’ve got to follow the rules so if you don’t want to sound quaint
You never never never use a word like ain’t

You’ve got to live a little first if you want to be believed
Cause the heart can always tell if you got something up your sleeve
Honesty is what you need if you want to get it done.
But sometimes that’s just to hard so you’ve got to have a little fun

It’s good to be a daydreamer with a romantic streak
And I guess it doesn’t hurt you much if your thoughts are deep
It’s not a requirement though just think of Achey Breaky Heart
It sold 11 million records the first day on the chart
It didn’t make any sense and didn’t have a lot to say
But it said it kind of cute and made the girls want to pay-and Oh by the way

If you’re caught with another woman and your excuse is not strong
Just say you’re a songwriter doing research on a cheating song
Don’t call your trip to Vegas a reckless seduction
Just write a little song about it and you got a tax deduction

CHORUS: If you want to write a song just hum a little tune
And make a rhyme with a color like orange red or blue
Yah, I was kidding ‘bout orange it doesn’t really rhyme
And if you tried to do it anyway -now that would be a crime

Keep a pen and paper right by your bed
In case an idea starts to spin around in your head
When your wife says “ boy what you doing up at 3 am”
You say ‘Dear, I just wrote you this nice little hymn
I’m just following my muse don’t look at me that way!
I’ve got to write it all down before it all slips away
Cause when you’re half awake or half asleep
Well, the song you remember that’s the song you keep

Now if you want to write a song you can’t write too happy.
You need a little blues control or it will turn out sappy
It’s good to have a wife like mine to keep your head on straight
When you think your song is pretty good
She says, “It’s not that great”
And finally,
When you write a few songs, just play ‘um for your Granny
If her toe starts tapping - then you might win a Grammy.

"Imagination is more important than knowledge." - Albert Einstein